The present participle of harpoon; the act of throwing or striking with a harpoon.
From harpoon plus the present participle suffix -ing (Old English -ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ungiz). The -ing suffix creates gerunds and continuous tenses.
Harpooning whales required split-second timing—harpooners trained to strike when the whale surfaced for air, and a single mistake could mean the whale would dive and snap the rope, dragging the boat and its crew under the waves.
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